George and Marcus went off together to get new outfits for the performance. All the girls went with Joyce and Jessica’s Dad.

“Turn into this parking garage,” Jessica’s dad told Joyce.

The girls had not stopped talking since leaving Symphony Hall. Jessica only figured out where they were going when they walked over the bridge from the parking garage into the mall.

Jessica turned to her Dad, “Not there.”

“It is the best girl dress shop in the tri-city area,” her dad commented.

Jessica rolled her eyes and turned to the other girls, “Come on, the shop is this way.”

Jessica’s dad turned to Joyce, “She used to love to come to this shop when she was Sammie’s age.”

Joyce looked at the girls walking far enough ahead that they probably couldn’t hear the adults, “What changed?”

“She is going through a phase where she doesn’t like dresses.”

“Maybe she isn’t very girly, or maybe transgender like Cindy,” Joyce looked at the girls and then at Jessica’s dad.

“Oh, she is 100% girl. She is just going through a phase. If things go the way I think they will in this shop, you will see her girly side come out.”

They turned a corner, and the girls were stopped in the middle of the walkway. They were looking at one of the shops. When Joyce turned to see what they were looking at, she smiled at the windows full of lavish girl dresses.

“I’m not going to be able to afford anything in this shop,” Joyce quietly commented to Jessica’s dad. “We can’t take the girls in there.”

“I suspected you would say that, and I know there is no way Cindy’s family could afford anything here either. Don’t worry, this is Jessica’s Christmas present to the two girls.”

“What,” Joyce asked?

“I’ll explain in a minute,” Jessica’s Dad turned away from Joyce and raised his voice a little so the girls could hear him. “Jessica, this is the shop where you can get their presents.”

Jessica turned to her dad with a big smile and wide eyes, “Really?”

“As long as you each walk out of there with a dress for the performance, then yes. Go find the perfect gift for each of them.”

Jessica shrieked. She ran up and hugged her dad before going back and taking Cindy and Sammie’s hands and dragging them into the store, “Come on. I’m going to get you each the perfect dress for the performance.”

Jessica’s dad smiled as his baby girl came alive at the joy of giving.

“We can’t accept a gift this expensive,” Joyce stated as the adults followed the girls into the shop. “Dresses in here have to cost over a $100 each.”

“Actually, there probably isn’t anything in here costing less than $400. They are all very high-quality handmade dresses.”

“Then there is no way we can take a gift like that. Jessica can’t afford to buy two dresses costing that much.”

“Actually, she can,” Jessica’s dad stated. “My wife’s a judge and I work at a fancy advertising agency. Jessica’s grandpa on my wife’s side is also a judge and my parents are also wealthy. From gifts over the years, Jessica has a lot of money in her bank account. We usually don’t give her access to that account, but when she started to talk about getting Sammie and Cindy something special for Christmas, we agreed to let her get the girls whatever she wanted. The only condition was that either her mom or I had to pick the store. My wife knew that Cindy’s family could never afford a good dress for the performance and gave me strict instructions to make sure Cindy had a good outfit. You were also in those instructions. She has a rough idea what state police officers make in a year.”

“But . . .”

“Joyce, look at my daughter. I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time. Your daughter and Cindy changed her at Camp. Before going to camp, Jessica wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep playing the piano and only reluctantly agreed to go to camp this last summer. She came back from camp talking constantly about Cindy and Sammie. She is all excited about going back to camp this coming summer, to be with Cindy and Sammie. Jessica was talking about how she had made friends with some of the nicest and best musicians at the camp. Not just the kids in her mini-orchestra, but others too. And, as I understand it, that is all because of Cindy and Sammie. If she wants to spend hundreds of dollars getting them each a special gift they will love, I am going to support her in that effort.”

Joyce looked over at the three girls going through the various dresses. They were all excited and having fun. Jessica was telling the two younger ones positives and negatives of different dresses they looked at. She was even pointing out when it would be hard to play their instrument in a particular dress. Some dresses were being ruled out, because they would be hard to sit in, while others because they might be a tripping hazard as they moved around the stage.

“Are you sure? It looks like Jessica is picking from some of the more expensive dresses in here.”

“I am very certain about this,” Jessica’s dad stated as he smiled at his daughter. “We may have money, but we have tried to raise our children to not feel entitled or spoiled. We have always tried to emphasize the importance of doing one’s best and giving to others. For Christmas this year Jessica wanted to cheer Cindy up. When the concert possibility was offered, Jessica set out on a mission to get the whole summer camp mini-orchestra back together as a way to do something to make Cindy happy. It took her quite a lot of phone calls to convince that Marcus kid to join this concert. There was also something with George’s family that put things into question on whether he would be able to come. Jessica worked hard to make sure everyone came. I’m so proud of her, putting others before herself.”

“Here you two, go try those on,” Jessica said handing dresses to Cindy and Sammie.

“What about you,” Sammie asked without moving.

“Yeah, we all need to try on a dress,” Cindy turned to a rack next to her and pulled out a red dress with frills on the shoulders and a bow around the waist.

“No, not that one,” Jessica quickly took the dress and put it back on the rack. “Mine has to be black to match the dress code of the rest of the orchestra. Only you two get to wear something different. It’s one of the special treats you two get for being so cute.”

Sammie and Cindy blushed.

“Let’s see,” Jessica said going over to the part of the store with dresses in her size. “Black and white dress code. Hmmm, not this one. Not that one, this isn’t a party. I need something formal but not too formal.”

“She really does know her stuff,” Joyce said to Jessica’s dad.

“Oh yeah, it is the only reason my wife will allow me to take Jessica clothes shopping. She knows Jessica will be picking out the clothes not me.”

Joyce laughed.

“No serious, I’m hopeless picking out an outfit for the kids that will work for the situation.”

“Do you have other children?” Joyce turned to Jessica’s dad.

“Jessica has a brother who is seven years older than her. He’s in college working on a degree in Biomedical Engineering. He’ll be back for Christmas just in time to see Jessica perform.”

“This one,” Jessica said pulling a dress off the rack and holding it up to her.

“But I thought you said we don’t want one that is down to our feet, so we can easily move around the stage,” Sammie inquired?

“You two will be moving around,” Jessica stated. “I’m a piano player. I will be sitting at the piano the whole time. And if I put some heels on, it will raise me up just enough that it isn’t so close to the floor.”

Joyce turned to Jessica’s dad, “I see what you mean about her girly side coming out. She will look stunning in that dress if it fits her.”

“Yes, she will,” the proud dad smiled.

Jessica, Cindy, and Sammie all headed for the changing rooms to try on their dresses. Joyce handed Sammie’s violin case to Jessica’s dad and followed the girls in to help them.

Sammie, being the first to get Joyce’s help, emerged wearing a dress with a dark blue bodice and white skirt. Her smile was huge as she looked in the three floor length mirrors. With a little spin, she remarkably got an even bigger smile.

One of the store employees was quickly by her side checking the fit. Before the process was done, Jessica came out and stood in front of the other three floor length mirrors outside the changing rooms. Just like most thirteen-year-old girls trying on a fancy dress. Jessica tried to take in how she looks from all angles and did a small spin.

“You look beautiful,” her dad said. “You are going to outshine all the adults up there on that stage.”

Jessica smiled, “Thanks Dad. If I have to wear a dress, at least this one makes me look like a teenager, not a little girl.”

Keeping his thoughts to himself, Jessica’s dad thought back to a very similar looking dress they got Jessica at this store when she was six years old. They were going to a formal party at the Art Gallery, and they wanted Jessica to look elegant but not stand out. Little six year old Jessica, however, believed that the dress made her a princess, requiring her to wear a tiara to the party. Jessica’s dad knew to keep this memory to himself. After that last comment, this was not the time to point out that the dress was almost identical to one she wore when she was six. The shop assistant finished with Sammie and came over to Jessica, “Sammie over there said she was going to be in a Christmas concert. Are you also in it?”

The lady used clips to grab the dress in some areas. Jessica had been here before, so she knew what was going on. It was all in an effort to figure out what alterations needed to be done to the dress.

“Yeah, the three of us are performing in the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra Christmas Concert. Will you be able to make the alterations before the concert.”

“Really,” the lady said while clipping another area of the dress. “I heard they were having some child prodigies this year perform. Are you three some of those musicians?”

“Yeah, Sammie plays the violin, Cindy the flute, and I play the piano,” Jessica said while the lady made another adjustment.

“That’s impressive. I was never good with any musical instruments.

While this was going on, Cindy came out of the changing room, not wearing the dress. Joyce got Sammie’s violin and asked her to play a song or two in order to make sure the dress didn’t restrict any of her movements while playing.

Just as the assistant was about to finish up with Jessica, Sammie started to play Silent Night. This caused everyone in the store to stop and look over at Sammie.

The owner of the shop had come over while Sammie was playing. She noticed a few of the clips the assistant had put in had come out while Sammie played her violin.

“My oh my. You are quite good at that. Are you getting a dress to wear while performing?”

“Yeah,” Sammie responded with glee. “We’re playing with the Symphony Orchestra.”

“Rose,” the store assistant said. “These girls are some of the musical prodigies playing at the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra Christmas concert.”

“I see,” Rose said kneeling down to Sammie’s level. “Penny, when doing alterations for performers, it is important to not have the dress so form fitting. They will need more movement than for a wedding, dance, or party.”

Rose took out all the clips Penny had put in and started over. When she was done, she asked Sammie to play again. This time Sammie played Frosty the Snowman.

“Was that better,” Rose asked?

“Yeah,” Sammie responded. “The dress didn’t feel as tight.”

“Good. I’ll make the final marks if your parents decide to buy the dress for you,” Rose stated. “But now I need to go help Penny out with your sister.”

Cindy, Sammie, and Jessica laughed.

“She’s not my sister,” Sammie said. “Jessica’s just my friend.”

Rose went over and made some adjustments to how Penny had done the clips on Jessica’s dress, “This fits you pretty good. We won’t have to do many adjustments for you.”

Finishing up Jessica quickly, Rose’s attention focused on Cindy, “Did the dress not fit you dear?”

Joyce spoke up, “It was too big both in size and length. I examined it some, and it looks like it would need more than just slight alterations. I think we need to find her another dress.”

Rose looked at Sammie and Jessica before looking back at Cindy, “The other two have dark blue and black as the primary color theme. I noticed this little one’s dress was all red. Much more Christmassy. Do you want a dress to go along with the color theme of the others or one to stand out.”

Jessica spoke up, “Cindy is the special guest artist at the show. People from around the world want her to come and perform for them. Cindy needs to stand out.”

“She even plays better than me,” Sammie said. “Yeah, she needs to be seen by everyone.”

“All three of you are outstanding musicians,” Joyce stated.

“Yeah Mommy,” Sammie went over and gave Cindy a hug. “But Cindy is better. She won first place this summer for the best musician at camp, and I hate to say it, she really did play better than me. Next summer though, next summer I am going to get first place.”

“Well,” Jessica interrupted. “I am buying Cindy and Sammie’s dresses. They both need to be extra special to help the two stand out from the rest of the orchestra. The director lady Hannah said Cindy and Sammie needed cutesy little girl Christmas dresses. But, like Sammie said this summer, we are performing and need to look professional.”

“Hmmm,” Rose said going over to a rack of dresses. “Cutesy, Christmassy, and professional.”

Rose grabbed three different dresses and brought them back for the others to evaluate. Cindy ended up trying on two of them.

“I like this one better than the last one,” Jessica said as Cindy came out of the dressing room. “But it’s too long.”

Rose smiled, “That is easy to fix for that dress. How long would you like it?”

“It looks good long, so maybe just up a little,” Jessica examined Cindy. “Maybe just enough that we can see her shoes. We have to make sure they don’t trip on the skirt. She will be using both hands for the flute, so she can’t hold the skirt up.”

Rose got a container of pins and went down to pin up the skirt about two inches. Stepping back she looked at Cindy and then put a clip in the back before looking again, “Okay, what do you think Cindy?”

Cindy turned and looked at herself in the three floor length mirrors, “I wish my hair had grown back more. This would look great with pigtails.” Rose stepped away for a moment. When she returned, she put a tiara on Cindy’s head. “Ooooooo,” Sammie said. “Cindy’s a princess.” “I like it,” Jessica smiled. “We’ll take it.”

“Don’t you think the tiara is a little over the top for an orchestra performance,” Jessica’s dad asked?

“Dad, you don’t know anything. Little girls can always wear a tiara when in a fancy dress, and it will not be too much. It just makes them cuter.”

Joyce laughed, “She does have a point.”